I grew up on Long Island in the village of Valley Stream from elementary through high school. After college, I left to get married and raise my family. I recently returned to my old hometown. Not counting visits to my mom, who moved shortly after I headed out, it was my first time back in 50 years.
During those formative times, I knew everythe corner from me. There were 30 yards between the telephone poles that marked our touch-football “field” boundaries; our games were often paused to allow traffic to pass. “The Tree” that marked home base for hide-and-seek and Ringolevio (a game of New York origin that involves two teams, hunters and prey) was surprisingly still there and even more massive, its branches spreading farther skyward.
